The United States “Master Stroke” against Venezuela, by Stella Calloni

The United States and their allies are preparing in silence a brutal plan to « put an end to the dictatorship » in Venezuela. This « Master Stroke », which is already well under way, will see its first instalment become operational before the next elections, and, if they are unable to eliminate President Nicolás Maduro during the offensive, which will be accompanied by the total machinery of propaganda, the medias, and certain acts of violence « for the defence of democracy», then Plan B is ready, and will implicate several countries, in order to impose a « multilateral force » for military intervention.

Panama, Colombia, Brazil and Guyana will play a key role, with the support of Argentina and other « friends », under the control of the Pentagon. Neighbouring countries will provide bases for the combat forces, and direct support, including hospitals and stocks of supplies for the soldiers – everything is ready.

All this is set out in an 11-page document which bears the signature of Admiral Kurt Walter Tidd, the current Commander-in-Chief of US SouthCom, but has not yet been made public [1].

The document analyses the current situation and validates a war of counter-insurgency against Venezuela, supported by the paraphernalia of psychological warfare, revealing the use of persecution, harassment, belittlement, and lies used as means to get rid not only of the popular leaders, but also the People as such.

The report affirms that « the Venezuelan Chavista dictatorship staggers as a result of its frequent internal problems, there is a great shortage of foodstuffs, an exhaustion of the sources of foreign currency and a rampant corruption. The international support, won with petrodollars, becomes scarcer each time and the purchasing power of its national currency is in a constant downfall ».

They admit having created this situation out of whole cloth, with shocking impunity, and consider that it will not change. They justify their actions by claiming that the Venezuelan government will take new « populist » measures in order to stay in power.

We may be amazed at the treatment reserved for the opposition, which is manipulated, advised and paid for by the United States, because in the report we read that « Maduro’s corrupt regimen will collapse but regrettably, the divided opposing forces, legitimate defenders of democracy and the well-being of their people, do note have power enough to put an end to the Venezuelan nightmare », because of their internal quarrels, and a « corruption similar to that of their rivals; as well as the scarcity of rooting, do not grant them the opportunity to make the most of this situation and to give the necessary step to overturn the state of penury and precariousness in which the pressure group, that exercices the leftist dictatorship has submerged the country ».

They consider that we are facing « unprecedented criminal action in Latin America », although the government of Venezuela has never acted against its neighbours, but rather demonstrates intense solidarity, at both the regional and international level. The US plan claims that « democracy spreads out in America, continent in which radical populism was intended to take over ». Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil are given as examples of this. « This rebirth of democracy has the support of the most valuable determinations, and the conditions in the region run in its favour. It is the time for the Unites States to prove, with concrete actions, that they are implicated in that process, where overthrowing Venezuelan Dictatorship will surely mean a continental turning point ».

They are also pushing US President Donald Trump to act, on the grounds that « It is the first opportunity of the Trump Administration to bring forward its vision in reference to security and democracy. Showing its active commiment is crucial, not only for the administration, but also for the continent and the world. The time has come to act ».

This implies – apart from the definitive eradication of Chavism and the expulsion of his representative – working to « encourage popular dissatisfaction, by increasing scarcity and rise in price » in order to make the rejection of the current dictator irreversible.

If we should seek to understand the art of counter-insurgent perversion, it would suffice to read the part of the document which recommends « to besiege [President Maduro], ridicule him and to pose him as symbol of awkwardness and incompetence. To expose him as a puppet of Cuba ».

The document also suggests exacerbating the divisions between certain members of the group in power, by underlining the differences in the quality of life of the population compared with that of their leaders, and making sure that these differences are amplified.

The idea consists of carrying out lightning operations, in the same way that Mauricio Macri in Argentina and Michel Temer in Brazil had taken certain measures in their own countries. These two valets obey the orders of Washington, and are both corrupt, but now, by imperial grace, they are presented as « examples of transparency » – within a matter of hours, they took measures to ensure the destruction of nation states with the precision of a missile strike.

The document, signed by the head of SouthCom, demands that Maduro’s government be made unbearable, in order to force him to hesitate, negotiate or flee. This plan, which is intended to get rid of the alleged dictatorship of Venezuela in short notice, calls for an « increase the internal instability to a critical level, by intensifying the undercapitalization of the country, the leaking out of foreign currency and the deterioration of its monetary base, bringing about the application of new inflationnary measures ».

Another objective – « fully obstructing imports, and at the same time discouraging potential foreign investors in order to make more critical the situation for the population ».

We may also find in this 11-page plan « appealing to domestic alllies as well as other people inserted from abroad in the national scenario in order to generate protests, riots and insecurity, plunders, thefts, assaults and highjacking of vessels as well as other means of transportation with the intention of deserting this country in crisis through all borderlands and other possible ways, jeopardizing in such a way the National Security of neighbouring frontier nations ». It would also be useful to create « victims » and accuse the leaders for this by magnifying the dimensions of the humanitarian crisis before the eyes of the whole world – for that, it will be necessary to deal in lies, and talk of generalised corruption amongst the leaders and link the government to narco-trafficking in order to dirty its image not only on the internal level, but in the eyes of international opinion – without forgetting to « promote fatigue inside the members of the PSUV [Unified Socialist Party], inciting the annoyance and nonconformity among themselves, for them to break noisily away from the line of the Governement, for them to refuse the measures and restrictions which also affect them […] making it as weak as the opposition is. Creating frictions between the PSUV and “Somos Venezuela” ».

That’s not all. It is also necessary to structure « a plan to get the profuse desertion of the most qualified professionnals from the country, in order to “to leave it with no professionnals at all”, which will aggravate even more the internal situation and along these lines putting the blame on of Government ».

Military interference

Just like in a suspense novel, the document calls for « using the army officers as an alternative for a definitive solution » and « continuing hardening the conditions inside the Armes Forces to carry out a coup d’état before concluding 2018, if the crisis does not make the dictatorship to collapse and the dictator does not decide to move aside ».

Considering that all of the above may not succeed, and with outright contempt for the Venezuelan opposition, the plan suggests « continuing setting fire to the common frontier with Colombia. Multiplying the traffic of fuel and other goods. The movement of paramilitaries, armed raids and drug trafficking. Provoked armed incidents with the Venezuelan frontier security forces » and besides this, to « recruit paramilitaries mainly in the campsites of refugees in Cúcuta, La Guajira and the north of Santander, areas largely populated by Colombian citizens who emigrated to Venezuela and now return, run away from the regimen to intensify the destabilizing activities in the common frontier between both countries. Making use of the empty space left by the FARC, the belligerency of the ELN and the activities in the area of the Gulf cartel ».

And here is the template for the final blow – « to prepare the involvment of allied forces in support the Venezuelan army officiers or to control the internal crisis in the event they delay too much in taking the initiative. Establishing a speedy time line that prevents the Dictator to continue winning control on the international scenario. If it is necessary, act before the elections stipulated for next April ».

In fact, these elections will be held on 20 May, and the United States and their associates refuse in advance to recognise the result. The crux of the matter is « to get the support of the cooperation of the allied authorities of friendly countries (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Panama and Guyana); to organise the provisionning, relief of troops, medical and logistic support from Panama. Making good use of the facilities of electronic surveillance and signals intelligence, the hospitals and its deployed endowments in Darien [in the Panamanian jungle], the quipped airdromes for the Colombian Plan, as well as the landing fields of the old-time military bases of Howard and Albrook [Pananma], as well as the one belonging to “Rio Hato” in addition, the Humanitarian Regional Center of the United Nations, designed for situations of catastrophes and humanitarian emergency, which has an aerial landing field and its own warehouse ».

We are faced with the setting up of an intervention which includes « the basification of combat airplanes and choppers, armored conveyances, intelligence positions and specail military and logistics units (police, and military district attorneys and prisons) ». […] It will be necessary to « develop the military operation under international flag, patronized by the Conference of American Armies, under the protection of the OAS and the supervision, in the legal and media context, of the General Secretary, Luis Almagro ». lt will also be necessary to « declare the necessity that the continental commandement be strengthened to act, using the instrument of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, in order to avoid the democratic rupture », and above all it will be necessary to « bind Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Panama to the contribution of greater number of troops, to make use of their geographic proximity and experience in operations in forest regions. Strenghtening their international condition with the presence of combat units from the United States of America and the other named countries, under the command of a Joint General Staff led by the USA ».

One is astounded by the impunity in which all this is being plotted, behind the backs of the People, in absolute illegality, revealing as it does the reasons for recent US military manoeuvres at the border between Brazil and Venezuela (Brazil, Peru, Colombia), and in the South Atlantic (United States, Chile, United Kingdom, Argentina) – in the case of Argentina, these plans have been progressing since October-November 2017 without the slightest authorisation of the National Congress.

« Use the facilities of the Panamanian territory for the rear guard and the capacities of Argentina for the securing of the ports and the maritime positions, Lean on Brazil and Guyana to make use of the migratory situation that we intend to encourage in the border with Guyana. Coordinate the support to Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, in Aruba, Curaçao, Trinidad and Tobago, and other States, in front of the flow of Venezuelan immigrants in the event of the crisis ».

It is also planned to favour international participation in this effort, as part of the multilateral operation with the contribution of states and non-governmental and international organisations, and furnish whatever is necessary in terms of logistics and intelligence – it will also be necessary to « anticipate, specialy, the most vulnerable points of Aruba, Puerto Carreño, Inirida, Maicao, Barranquilla and Sincelejo in Colombia, as well as Roraima, Manaos and Boavista in Brazil ». So here we have laid out before us the map of an announced war of intervention.

Strategic Information

As far as the strategic perspective is concerned, it will be necessary to « silence the symbolic presence of Chavez-representative of unit and popular support » while pursuing the harassing of the dictator « as the only responsible, in the first place, for the prevaling crisis due to his inability to find the way out that the Venezuelans are in need of » as well as his closest executives, who will be blamed for the crisis and the impossibility of recovery.

In another paragraph, the text calls for the intensification of « the denouncement toward Maduro’s regimem, […] high-lighting the incompetence of the mechanisms of integration created by the regimens of Cuba and Venezuela, specialy the ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America] and Petrocaribe ».

As far as the medias are concerned, the plan drawn up by the United States calls for an increase in the broadcasting, inside the country, by local media and foreign media, of invented messages based on witness reports and publications from the country itself, making use of all means of dissemination, including the social networks, of messages « claming, though the mas media, the need to put an end to this situation because of its unsustainable essence ».

In one of the last paragraphs of the document, there is mention of claiming or showing the use of violent means by the dictatorship, in order to gain international support, by using « all the capacities of the psychological war of the US ARMY ».

In other words, this means setting up the same scenarios based on lies, news montages, falsified photos and videos, everything that was used during the colonial wars of the 16th century.

Another question, « The United States should entirely back up the OAS, strenghtening the image of the OAS and offer multilateral institutions of the inter-American system, as instruments for the solution to regional problems. Promoting the respect of the dispatch of the UNO military force for the imposition of peace, only Nicolas Maduro’s corrupt dictatorship is defeated ».